http://www.freep.com/news/religion/crumm11e_20050211.htm

BY DAVID CRUMM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

DAVID CRUMM: There's more than one way to help humanity, Pentecostal preacher finds Churches are abuzz these days with talk about "postmodern Christians," and I think I've finally found an example of this exotic-sounding species: the Rev. Frank Julian, a co-pastor at Faith Christian Assembly in Melvindale.But Julian of Allen Park is so much more than that. Take a deep breath and consider the following:

At 49, he's a restless baby boomer and former Catholic who has reinvented himself as an independent Pentecostal. He's a multitasking monotheist who's trilingual (English, Italian, Spanish) and sometimes, while praying, speaks in unknown tongues.

He has dual vocations in pastoral practices and registered nursing. He's based locally, but works globally -- preaching Downriver while working to help AIDS patients in African villages. It takes a cell phone, a beeper, two Web sites, three e-mail addresses and four business cards to keep in touch with his daily life.

His rock-solid faith lies in the Bible propped next to a Web-browsing computer in his office. He's linked to a higher power, but he's looking at the bottom line where he has discovered that cross-cultural religious charity can help save lives.

He's firmly rooted in his faith, but he's currently moving to a new location. He'll soon be appearing at a new Faith Christian Assembly just down the street from the old one, once his congregation breathes new life into the soon-to-be-renovated hulk of a former Kmart on Outer Drive.

Whew!

If that's exhausting to read, imagine what it's like to be the Rev. Frank Julian, working part time as a home health care nurse, part time as a pastor and part time as the head of Fighting Aids With Nutrition (FAWN), a new nonprofit that ships life-saving nutritional supplements from Detroit to AIDS patients in Botswana and South Africa. (The group's Web site is www.fightingaids.org.)

When I heard about Julian's amazing, do-it-yourself array of vocations, I was intrigued and puzzled. So, I called Eide Alawan, a prominent Muslim activist in metro Detroit who has become one of Julian's friends and coworkers.

"I can't keep track of everything Frank is doing," Alawan said. "But he's a pastor, a very fine nurse and he's doing this project to help with AIDS in Africa. And, I think he's for real. He's a good, sweet guy."

What's remarkable about Alawan's comment is that there aren't many conservative Pentecostals in metro Detroit who count Muslim leaders as close friends. But Julian works closely with Alawan in the emerging field of cross-cultural nursing through a Southfield-based home health care firm called Health Care Partners Inc.

I was drawn to this story because, as I touch base with religious groups across the country, I hear people anxiously voicing the phrase "postmodern Christianity." Entire books have been written on the topic, some even suggesting that this may be the end of religious civilization as we've known it.

But the basic idea is pretty simple: Given the complex nature of the world, the many disappointments in recent history and the rapid pace at which cultures are mingling, many people are abandoning the old idea of modernism: that there's one clear path toward a bright future for humanity.

Julian is the first to admit that this is a confusing moment in history to figure out how to preach and serve other people. His FAWN charity has successfully shipped a dozen loads of nutritional supplements to help AIDS patients. Donations have come from a growing network of churches and civic groups in metro Detroit. But, at this point, his fledgling charity could rapidly expand -- or, it could hit a bottleneck and fade.

This week, as Julian helped to load another shipment of supplements, he summed up the postmodern challenge this way: "It's wild. There's so much to be done out there. The good news is that many people are willing to help from many different places. But we have to figure out how to make connections and get it all done."

He started to chuckle and threw his hands in the air as if tossing it all up into God's hands.

"I'm afraid sometimes at the enormity of it all. And, then, I go: 'God, you've got to help me figure out how to do all of this in such a confusing world!' "

I thought: For better or worse, it's a perfect postmodern prayer.